Queens baker focuses on hometown growth

THE YEAST WE CAN DO: Customers expectations increase in a time like this, says Tom Cat Bakery President Matthew Reich (left, with original owner Noel Labat-Comess).

The baguettes, which go stale fastest, slide out of the Tom Cat Bakery ovens at 3:30 a.m. Half an hour later, the crusty loaves are leaving Long Island City, Queens, for Manhattan and by 5 a.m. are carted into the kitchen at the Grand Hyatt hotel. At 8:30 a.m., another batch of baguettes comes out of the oven, and at 10:30 a.m., another. The Grand Hyatt gets its fresh bread three times a day.

It's a routine made possible by the unique qualities of the New York City market, where a delivery truck might make stops at a half-dozen restaurants in a single block—and where restaurant customers readily pay for upper-crust niceties like loaves of honey wheat, filones of semolina or those fresh baguettes.

Founded 22 years ago, Tom Cat has thrived by focusing on the big, dense, wealthy market in its own backyard. For companies with the wherewithal to survive the competition and provide the level of service New Yorkers demand, the city itself can be the key to growth. Many gourmet food makers have used the city as a launching pad: The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade counts 200 companies in New York City among its members, many of them manufacturers.

Of course, serving famously demanding New Yorkers can have its disadvantages. Companies that aim to do so must invest heavily in service—Tom Cat, for instance, will deliver orders of as little as $30.

The demands are only growing in the recession, says Matthew Reich, president of 275-employee Tom Cat, which is now coping with more deliveries, as customers place smaller orders more often. “Customers' expectations of service and quality increase in a time like this,” he says.

Expansion planned

Sales are down about 10% year over year at Tom Cat, where revenue was about $30 million last year, and hours have been cut back for hourly workers. But Mr. Reich, who is part of a group of investors that purchased the company last year from the original ownership group—including founder Noel Labat-Comess—has faith in the palates of New Yorkers. The new owners plan an expansion that will increase the size of the bakery by 50%—and, they hope, will double sales.

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